Business Tools Blog

And no, I am not talking about myself.  (Wes I know you were thinking it)

The Evil HR Lady blogged about not paying hourly employees for the time that it takes their computer to boot up.  She quotes Tresa Baldas:

During the past year, several companies, including AT&T Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Cigna Corp., have been hit with lawsuits in which employees claimed that they were not paid for the 15- to 30-minute task of booting their computers at the start of each day and logging out at the end.

She and many other HR managers expressed anger and outrage.

I can see their perspective.  However, I think the real point is that waiting 30 minutes for a computer to boot is absolutely crazy!  … AND Who came up with the idea to not pay employees for this time.

I imagine the conversation went something like this:

— Budget Meeting —

Call Center Manager: “I can’t cut my budget, because I lose 30 minutes per person per day waiting for their computer to boot.”

The Big Cheese: “Let’s talk to the CIO, maybe she can solve the problem.”

CIO: “No way, we can’t change our process.”

The Big Cheese: (after a moment of deep thought) “I have another solution … what if we just don’t pay people for the time it takes them to boot their computer.  After all, they really aren’t working.”

CIO: “Brilliant”

Call Center Manager: “Wish I thought of it”

The Big Cheese: “That’s why they call me The Big Cheese.“